Authors

Conference Dates

June 24-29, 2018

Abstract

Environmental barrier coatings are required to protect Si3N4 against hot gas corrosion and enable its application in gas turbines. In comparison to other environmental barrier coatings, rare-earth silicate-based coatings stand out due to the very low corrosion rates in moist environments at high temperatures and the compatibility of thermal expansion coefficient to Si3N4 ceramics. Thus, the polymer-derived ceramic route was used to synthesize yttrium and ytterbium silicates in the temperature range of 1000-1500 °C for basic investigations regarding their intrinsic properties from a mixture of Y2O3 or Yb2O3 powders and the oligosilazane Durazane 1800. After pyrolysis above 1200 °C in air, the corresponding silicates are already the predominant phases. The corrosion behaviour of the resulting composites was assessed after exposure to flowing moist air at 1400 °C for 80 h. The material containing Yb2SiO5 and Yb2Si2O7 as main crystalline phases undergoes the lowest corrosion rate (-1.8 µg cm-2 h-1). In contrast, the corrosion rate of yttrium-based composites remained at least ten times higher. Lastly, the processing of Y2O3/Durazane 1800 as well-adherent, crack-free and thick (40 µm) coatings on Si3N4 was achieved after pyrolysis at 1400 °C in air. The resulting coating consisted of an Y2O3/Y2SiO5 top-layer and an Y2Si2O7 interlayer due to diffusion of silicon from the substrate and its interaction with the coating system.